Fromm, Erich (ĕr`ĭkh frōm, frŏm), 1900–1980, psychoanalyst and author, b. Frankfurt, Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Heidelberg, 1922. From 1929 to 1932 he lectured at the Psychoanalytic Institute, Frankfurt, and at the Univ. of Frankfurt. He came to the United States in 1934, where he practiced psychoanalysis and lectured at various institutions, including the International Institute for Social Research (1934–39), Columbia Univ. (1940–41), the American Institute for Psychoanalysis (1941–42), and Yale (1949–50). He served on the faculty of Bennington College (1941–50). He went on to teach at the National Univ. of Mexico (1951), at Michigan State Univ. (1957), and at New York Univ. (1961). Breaking from the Freudian psychoanalytic tradition which focused largely on unconscious motivations, Fromm held that humans are products of the cultures in which they are bred. In modern, industrial societies, he maintained, they have become estranged from themselves. These feelings of isolation resulted in an unconscious desire for unity with others. Fromm's works include Escape from Freedom (1941), The Sane Society (1955), The Art of Loving (1956), Sigmund Freud's Mission (1958), May Man Prevail? (1973), and To Have or to Be (1976).

Bibliography

See biographical studies by D. Hausdorff (1972) and G. Knapp (1989); R. I. Evans, Dialogue with Erich Fromm (1966, repr. 1981).

Fromm, Erich

(born March 23, 1900, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.—died March 18, 1980, Muralto, Switz.) German-born U.S. psychoanalyst and social philosopher. A disciple of Sigmund Freud, Fromm joined the Frankfurt school in the 1920s and left Nazi Germany for the U.S in 1933. Taking issue with Freud, he came to believe in the interaction of psychology and society and argued that psychoanalytic principles could be applied to cure cultural ills. He taught at various institutions, including the National University of Mexico (1951–67) and New York University (from 1962). His many books, which had popular as well as academic success, included Escape from Freedom (1941), The Sane Society (1955), and The Crisis of Psychoanalysis (1970); The Art of Loving (1956) became a durable best-seller.

Fromm, Erich (1900–80) psychoanalyst, social philosopher; born in Frankfurt, Germany. He studied at the Universities of Frankfurt, Heidelberg, and Munich, and at the Berlin Institute of Psychoanalysis. After emigrating to the United States in 1933, he established a private practice in psychiatry and taught at New York University and the National University of Mexico. His major writings explored those needs that he identified as uniquely human— relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, identity, and a frame of orientation. His works, several of which reached wide audiences, include Escape from Freedom (1941), Man For Himself (1947), The Heart of Man (1964), and The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973).